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E. MOULTON.

PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING METALS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 18. 1915.

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PROCESS FUR EXTE/AGTING METALS.

Specification or Letters Patent. t t s a 1 119 I Application filed April1t, 1916; Serial No. 91,902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LEnnnsr Mournron, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salt Lake Cityfiin the county of Salt Lake and State of tah,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes forExtracting Metals; and T do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for separating zinc/from zinc sulfate and zinc chlorid.

The object of the present invention is to provide a process and anapparatus for separating zinc from acid solutions such as zinc sulfateand zinc chlorid and it is adapted to enable low grade ores to beadvantageously worked.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing-and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departin from the spirit orsacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of a double cell constructed inaccordance with this invention for carrying out the process,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of one of theporous walls of the inner receptacle,

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating an-.

other form of filtering or porous packing.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawing.

in the accompanying drawingv is illustrated the embodiment of apreferred form of apparatus for carrying out the process of thisinvention. This apparatus comprises in this constructionn double cellconsisting of an outer receptacle or tank 1 and an inner receptacle ortank 2 which is constructed separate from and arranged within the outertank or receptacle 1 to enable it to be readily placed therein andremoved therefrom. Theouter tank or receptacle 1 forms a compartment 3for the reception of an acid solution of zinc and the inner receptacleforms an inner compartment l for the reception of an alkaline solutionof zinc but instead of forming the separate compartment by diflerentreceptacles, one placed within the other they may be partitioned 0d inother desired manner as will be readily understood, the arrangementillustrated in the drawings being preferable as it permits the currentto flow inwardl into the central receptacle from opposite si es thereofthereby increasing the capacity of the apparatus.

The inner receptacle is provided with opposite walls 5 consisting offrames composed of inner and. outerwall plates or members 6 and 7provided at intervals with registering openings 8 and 9 and spaced apartto form a recess or pocket 10 for the reception of a porous packing ordiaphragm composed of sheets 11 of porous material such as filter paper,canvas, burlap or the like and a stratum 12 of granular material such assand, saw-dust or the like. Urdinary sand may be employed and also sandfrom the tailings from leaching tanks may be utilized. The sand may beused with or without the sheets of porous filtering material and whensand is employed independently of the sheets of filtering materialcoarse sand 12 will be arranged adjacent to the frame plates pr members6 and 7 and finer sand 12 between the coarse as clearly illustrated inFig. 5. The porous packing or diaphragm separates the acid and alkalinesolution and while permitting thepassage of the electric current throughthe electrolyte it will prevent the mixing of the acid and alkalinesolutions. The upper ends of the pockets 10 are open to permittheapplication and removal of the porous packings or diaphragms.

The outer compartment contains a pair of electrodes 13 of carbon withwhich are connected wires 14 and the central or intermediate compartmentcontains an electrode 15 consisting of a zinc, copper or iron plate andconnected to the other terminal of the electric circuit. The wires 14branch from a common wire 17 and the electric current of carbon andcopper, zinc or iron plates, electrodes of any other suitable materialofsuflicient difi'erence in polarity may of course be employed. The innerand :outer tanks or receptacles may be constructed of wood or metal andwill be painted or otherwise coated to render them acid proof.

The zinc formed by the decomposition in the anode chamber migrates intothe oathode chamber through the diaphragm, which in consequence of thewell known action of zinc solution and of alkaline zinc solution inparticular upon paper has been converted into a kind of vegetableparchment, thereby effectivelypreventing a ready diflusion of the twoelectrolytic liquids into each other. In the cathode chamber the zinc isconverted first into zincate, or in the case of lead into plumbate, fromwhich, by decomposition the metal is separated and deposited upon thecathode, hydrogen being also formed and collecting upon the cathode. Bythis means it has been found that a more coherent and more uniformdeposit is formed than it is possible to obtain by using exclusivelyacid solution of the metal as an electrolyte. The alkaline solution alsocauses hydrids to be formed, which protect the metal deposit. Theemployment of an alkaline catholyte has the advantage, moreover, thatsuch foreign metals as iron, aluminum, calcium and the like areprecipitated and are prevented from entering the zinc deposit asimpurities.

The process and apparatus enable low grade zine ore to be workedprofitably, and may also be employed for extracting lead and othermetal.

What is claimed is 1. The hereindescribed process of separating metals,consisting in separating an acid and an alkaline solution of a metal soas to prevent the mixing of the solutions and to permit the passage ofan electric current from one solution to the other. and in subjectingthe solutions to the action of an electric current'through the medium ofa cathode in the alkaline solution and an anode in the acid solution.

2. The hereindescribed process of extracting metals which consists inimmersing the terminals of an electric circuit respectively in an acidsolution and in an alkaline solution of the metal and passing theelectric current through said terminals.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST MOULTON.

Witnesses:

W. A. STUMM, LOUIS C. KIMBALL.

